Roslyn, Part 4: "Holy Shit!"
Monday, July 16th 2007
I could be pretty glib and sardonic while blogging about Tess' pregnancy, going for yuks while still delivering pertinent information. Even her labor was fertile ground for a blow-by-blow description. The birth itself, though...well, those of you who have been through it know that it's intensely emotional, and intensely private. Here are some observances about Roslyn's delivery, without going into a detail that robs my heart & memory of their most treasured observances...
• Pushing feels good. Once you're finally ALLOWED to push, you feel like you're doing something worthwhile to alleviate the pressure.
• How long you push depends wholly on where the baby is. If she's positioned high up, you'll push for a long damn time; this is why Dr. G told us she would ALWAYS take a stubborn cervix but a low-lying baby over the opposite.
• Birthing was, for us, very private. Only I, Tess and Nurse P were in the mostly-darkened room right up until Roslyn crowned.
• Birthing smells. Not bad, just...odd. Like nothing I've ever smelled before.
• Labia sort of roll outward, like turning your eyelid inside-out. I suppose I expected the hole to just sort of...I dunno, "open wider" or something. Nope. The lips just sort of splooge inside-out.
• Head = 45 minutes to deliver. Body = 4.5 seconds. WOW.
• Books I'd read told us we'd be so overwhelmed and focused on our new baby, we probably wouldn't even be aware of the placental delivery. Totally right. Not only that, but Dr. G sewed up Tess' average tear during this time as well. I only had to look once, to see her pulling several bloody feet of surgical thread through the air, to never need to look again.
• Placentas are FUCKING HUGE. Od's blood! I just couldn't believe it. Dr. G held it up for us, using both hands with thumb & fingers about 2 inches apart, proclaiming it to be beautiful and healthy-looking. I suppose it was: but, ultimately, it resembled nothing so much as a 5-lb. round steak. Raw. And wet. (*shudder!*)
• Instinct takes over for men as well as women. Never having handled a newborn before, I nevertheless immediately picked her up when Nurse P asked me to bring her over for a Vitamin K shot and some additional cleaning.
• The technical stats: born 7/16/07 at 10:29pm. 6 lbs. 7 oz., 19.5 inches long. Apgar tests 9 and 9. Absolutely the most beautiful fucking thing ever. EVER.
We got to stay in the delivery room for 3 hours, during which time Tess FINALLY got to eat something, and we cooed & hovered over our new daughter. By the time we finally got moved over to the mommy/baby room (with pull-out chair for dad), the reality of being parents was kind of overwhelmed by the heavy emotion of a nearly 24-hour day. Sleep came quickly, the sleep of supreme confidence and miraculous achievement. Welcome to the world, Roslyn. We hope to make it live up to your expectations.
I could be pretty glib and sardonic while blogging about Tess' pregnancy, going for yuks while still delivering pertinent information. Even her labor was fertile ground for a blow-by-blow description. The birth itself, though...well, those of you who have been through it know that it's intensely emotional, and intensely private. Here are some observances about Roslyn's delivery, without going into a detail that robs my heart & memory of their most treasured observances...
• Pushing feels good. Once you're finally ALLOWED to push, you feel like you're doing something worthwhile to alleviate the pressure.
• How long you push depends wholly on where the baby is. If she's positioned high up, you'll push for a long damn time; this is why Dr. G told us she would ALWAYS take a stubborn cervix but a low-lying baby over the opposite.
• Birthing was, for us, very private. Only I, Tess and Nurse P were in the mostly-darkened room right up until Roslyn crowned.
• Birthing smells. Not bad, just...odd. Like nothing I've ever smelled before.
• Labia sort of roll outward, like turning your eyelid inside-out. I suppose I expected the hole to just sort of...I dunno, "open wider" or something. Nope. The lips just sort of splooge inside-out.
• Head = 45 minutes to deliver. Body = 4.5 seconds. WOW.
• Books I'd read told us we'd be so overwhelmed and focused on our new baby, we probably wouldn't even be aware of the placental delivery. Totally right. Not only that, but Dr. G sewed up Tess' average tear during this time as well. I only had to look once, to see her pulling several bloody feet of surgical thread through the air, to never need to look again.
• Placentas are FUCKING HUGE. Od's blood! I just couldn't believe it. Dr. G held it up for us, using both hands with thumb & fingers about 2 inches apart, proclaiming it to be beautiful and healthy-looking. I suppose it was: but, ultimately, it resembled nothing so much as a 5-lb. round steak. Raw. And wet. (*shudder!*)
• Instinct takes over for men as well as women. Never having handled a newborn before, I nevertheless immediately picked her up when Nurse P asked me to bring her over for a Vitamin K shot and some additional cleaning.
• The technical stats: born 7/16/07 at 10:29pm. 6 lbs. 7 oz., 19.5 inches long. Apgar tests 9 and 9. Absolutely the most beautiful fucking thing ever. EVER.
We got to stay in the delivery room for 3 hours, during which time Tess FINALLY got to eat something, and we cooed & hovered over our new daughter. By the time we finally got moved over to the mommy/baby room (with pull-out chair for dad), the reality of being parents was kind of overwhelmed by the heavy emotion of a nearly 24-hour day. Sleep came quickly, the sleep of supreme confidence and miraculous achievement. Welcome to the world, Roslyn. We hope to make it live up to your expectations.
posted by Animal at 3:58 PM
10 Comments:
Congratulations from the Sunshine State.
"She's a beauty ---
one in a million girls,
she's a beauty." - Tubes
The anticipation is ... oh wait, guess I was used to saying that after each Roslyn post.
Ahem.
BUT, we can anticipate all of her "firsts" from here on out. How fun!
She's beautiful! Congratulations, and props to the exhausted, but proud, parents.
Awwww. Congratulations! Your lives will NEVER be the same (but in a wonderful, awe-inspiring, tug-on-the-heartstrings kind of way)!
Awwww, you did a wonderful job describing the journey. Enjoy your beautiful new daughter. She's definitely a keeper.
Congratulations! I wish for you the same thing I wished for myself when my own daughter was born: May boy bands not be popular when she hits her teen years.
Is it too early to try out the Kiss make-up? It'd make a nice family picture.
I love this story.
Extremely awesome.
Delurking to say congratulations, she is beautiful. She also shares my son's birthday, although he was born 2 years before her at 1044p, it's a good birthday to have.
y'all rock. good luck with everything and so many congratulations!
Are you going to print out this account and put it in Roz's "baby book"?
Thanks for the great blow-by-blow!
Post a Comment
<< Home